Ch 8: The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy

Question 1

federal bureaucracy

Answer 1

the thousands of federal government agencies and institutions that implement and administer federal laws and programs

Question 2

spoils system

Answer 2

replacing cabinet members with people based on relationships

Question 3

patronage

Answer 3

jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support

Question 4

merit system

Answer 4

replacing cabinet members with people based on qualifications

Question 5

Pendleton Act

Answer 5

reform measure that established the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams and created the Civil Service Commission

Question 6

civil service system

Answer 6

the merit system by which many federal bureaucrats are selected

Question 7

independent regulatory commission

Answer 7

an entity created by Congress outside a major executive department

Question 8

departments

Answer 8

major administrative units with responsibility for a broad area of government operations

Question 9

Independent executive agencies

Answer 9

governmental units that closely resemble a Cabinet department, but have narrower areas of responsibility and perform services rather than regulatory functions

Question 10

government corporations

Answer 10

businesses established by Congress to perform functions that private businesses could provide

Question 11

Hatch Act

Answer 11

prohibits civil servants from taking activist roles in party campaigns

Question 12

implementation

Answer 12

the process by which a law or policy is put into operation

Question 13

iron triangles

Answer 13

relationships between government agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees

Question 14

issue networks

Answer 14

the loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas

Question 15

interagency councils

Answer 15

working groups created to facilitate coordination of policy making and implementation across a host of governmental agencies

Question 16

policy coordinating committees

Answer 16

sub-cabinet level committees created to facilitate interactions between agencies and departments to handle complex policy problems

Question 17

administrative discretion

Answer 17

the ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional or executive intentions

Question 18

rule making

Answer 18

a quasi-legislative process resulting in regulations that have the characteristics of a legislative act

Question 19

regulations

Answer 19

rules governing the operation of all government programs that have the force of law

Question 20

administrative adjudication

Answer 20

a quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes